In a wireless communication system, data can be transmitted between a base station and a wireless mobile device in a communication session. The communication session can be a voice call, a data call, or data communication session. The data call can include a voice call supported by a voice over Internet Protocol session. Data calls can also support data communications sessions with network servers, or similar data connections.
Although signal coverage and reliability for wireless devices, such as cellular telephones, has improved over the years, there are still times when the wireless device will drop a call. Dropped calls (whether voice or data) can occur when there is not enough radio frequency signal strength to maintain a call (or other data transfer session). Dropped calls can also occur because of infrastructure errors or problems, and because a capacity of a communications system has been exceeded. Calls can be dropped because lower priority data traffic is terminated to provide capacity for higher priority traffic. Electromagnetic interference can cause a dropped call.
Most times after a call is dropped one or more of the users of the communications session (wherein “users” can include human users and computer processes) will want to reconnect or reestablish the dropped call. This can be frustrating, time consuming, and wasteful of communication system resources when both users of the dropped call simultaneously attempt to reestablish the dropped call. This can result in one or more of the users being forwarded to voice mail or a busy signal because the callbacks have crossed and interfered with each other. For example, the first device callback to the second device can fail because the second device is busy calling back the first device, and vise versa.
This problem can occur with many kinds of electronic devices that connect with voice or data calls, or communications sessions, using communications systems that can drop the call. Examples of such electronic devices include many portable wireless electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, and the like. The problem of reestablishing a call can also occur with wired devices, such as a telephone using voice-grade telephone service (plain old telephone service or POTS), or VOIP phone that uses voice over Internet Protocol.
In view of these deficiencies in the operation of electronic devices, an improved apparatus and method for reestablishing a dropped call in a communication system is needed. It is in view of this background information related to dropped calls in communications systems that the significant improvements of the present disclosure have evolved.